[Fiyero88]

Just finished paint correcting my newly purchased 2018 Black Camaro. I washed it, clay bar-d it, wet sanded it, compounded it and polished it. Finished off with Montan wax. This thing has more chips than any car I've ever seen. The front bumper looks like a Galaxy. Apparently the windshield was replaced because a rock hit the driver side bounced off hit the window where the roof meets the glass and shattered. There was a pretty nice chip when the rock hit but I touched it up.

Black is soo hard to keep clean but I wouldn't want any other color.

[2SS Capt]

Looks AWESOME!!

[arpad_m]

Maximum for the effort you put into keeping a black car beautiful.

[Fiyero88]

Thanks guys! It's a work in process, I've been just restoring things as I go. It actually looks AWEFUL today because it rained last night(south west Florida) and then it collects all the dust and stuff in the yard. A car cover is coming today for it, should minimize me having to clean it daily lol. I'm actually going to be replacing the front bumper as it's totalled with rock chips and then maybe some more spot sanding stuff as I see it pop up. Black cars are extremely hard to keep clean but they look nice for the 2 hours they're clean lol

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Fiyero88

Thanks guys! It's a work in process, I've been just restoring things as I go. It actually looks AWEFUL today because it rained last night(south west Florida) and then it collects all the dust and stuff in the yard. A car cover is coming today for it, should minimize me having to clean it daily lol. I'm actually going to be replacing the front bumper as it's totalled with rock chips and then maybe some more spot sanding stuff as I see it pop up. Black cars are extremely hard to keep clean but they look nice for the 2 hours they're clean lol

They do look the best, but for the shortest possible time, heh. My garnet red metallic paint is a tradeoff, it's dark enough to show some of the gunk and dirt, but not too much, and it looks royal, especially in the sunlight.

On the topic of car covers, I wouldn't do it just to prevent the collection of dust or everyday grime. You'll scratch your paint way worse with a cover, especially if it's an outdoor one that may even move around slightly on the car with the wind. The less you (or a cover) touch the car, the longer you can preserve the clear coat.

[Fiyero88]

Well the problem is that I do not have a garage for it, it sits in the grass in my yard in full sun all day. So the car cover might be a better option. I know the sun is going to kill it if it doesn't get covered.

Originally Posted by arpad_m

They do look the best, but for the shortest possible time, heh. My garnet red metallic paint is a tradeoff, it's dark enough to show some of the gunk and dirt, but not too much, and it looks royal, especially in the sunlight.

On the topic of car covers, I wouldn't do it just to prevent the collection of dust or everyday grime. You'll scratch your paint way worse with a cover, especially if it's an outdoor one that may even move around slightly on the car with the wind. The less you (or a cover) touch the car, the longer you can preserve the clear coat.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Fiyero88

Well the problem is that I do not have a garage for it, it sits in the grass in my yard in full sun all day. So the car cover might be a better option. I know the sun is going to kill it if it doesn't get covered.

Aha, it's exposed to the sun, then I understand, you may actually be better off with a cover and having the car paint corrected every other year or so. I don't have too much confidence in the longevity of GM's modern clear coats.

[Fiyero88]

I agree, after sanding some spots I have come to the conclusion that GM'S top coat is very hard. It's like a rock, I don't think the paint will last very long on these cars unfortunelty. The constant scratches, rock chips and swirls from everyday driving will I'm sure accelerate it. To be fair to GM, I have been going around analyzing other people's paint and everyone else's seems to be just as cheap. I've seen some newer than mine, cars that have chips, scratches, swirls, orange peel ect. I'd say in my specific year and color(2018,Black) that GM let these go with no quality control. It's mostly just orange peel paint. For only being 3 years old it has a moderate amount of paint damage and the front bumper can't be saved on mine due to rock chips and spray all over it. It also doesn't help that its black and literally shows every little thing on it. I decided after I bought it to just enjoy it and maybe just fix things as I go little by little. I also can't see buying PPF for it or anything expensive because it's not an expensive car to begin with. Just fun to drive around and open it up in a long stretch of road.

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Aha, it's exposed to the sun, then I understand, you may actually be better off with a cover and having the car paint corrected every other year or so. I don't have too much confidence in the longevity of GM's modern clear coats.

[Fiyero88]

This is a custom fit cover for the 6th gen Camaro. It has a soft Polyester interior and a UV and water resistant exterior. Also has pretty cool reflector strips in it. I'm currently using it because it's gotta be better than letting it sit in the sun all day and have bird poop, tree poop and pollen all over it. I know that they say covers will scratch the paint but bird poop and water spots to me are much worse than a swirl mark from a car cover lol

[dpevans]

WARNING do NOT use a car cover if you use it as a daily driver. I don't care what the car cover companies say every time you take the cover off and put it back on you will put another scratch in the paint and after a year of doing this it will look like crap. Only use a cover for long term storage. Rain dropping on your car will not scratch it, car covers will. If I was you after all the hard work you have put in is to invest in PPF on the front and protect from future rock chips then apply a professional ceramic or graphene coating so it's easier to clean. Another tip is to dry your car with a leaf blower cause anytime you touch, micro fiber towel included, you will scratch the paint. The less you touch the better. Great job with the black it looks outstanding.

[Fiyero88]

Totally taking your advice, took the cover off I agree it seems it would scratch it. I guess I'll live with bird droppings and rain dropping as they are easier to clean off then to get scratches. I'm trying to go in for a ceramic coating but probably not for another 3 months. I think it'll live until then. Also it rained and now the car is back to water spots all over it🚙 so I'm back to washing it again haha

Originally Posted by dpevans

WARNING do NOT use a car cover if you use it as a daily driver. I don't care what the car cover companies say every time you take the cover off and put it back on you will put another scratch in the paint and after a year of doing this it will look like crap. Only use a cover for long term storage. Rain dropping on your car will not scratch it, car covers will. If I was you after all the hard work you have put in is to invest in PPF on the front and protect from future rock chips then apply a professional ceramic or graphene coating so it's easier to clean. Another tip is to dry your car with a leaf blower cause anytime you touch, micro fiber towel included, you will scratch the paint. The less you touch the better. Great job with the black it looks outstanding.

[cmitchell17]

Is wet sanding as scary as it sounds? This is coming from someone with no paint and body experience. I have tried so many compounds and DAs (never tried a real orbital), and I have concluded absolutely no difference before and after. I have also concluded waxes, sealants do nothing either. A clay bar might make it feel smoother but dosent seem to help anything visually. Waxes and sealants help out shine some after application but the first storm you are caught in, all of that work goes out the window, I don't think they give you any "protection".

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by cmitchell17

Is wet sanding as scary as it sounds?

Yes. Don't do it.

Wet sanding is for removing LOTS of paint, specifically it is done to flatten (remove) orange peel after applying several layers of paint. GM's accountants have been living in the paint booth for decades, so the paint on our cars is as thin as they can possibly make it. So since your car does not have several layers of paint from the factory, wet sanding the already incredibly thin OEM paint is a particularly excellent way of trashing the OEM paint job.

[cmitchell17]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Yes. Don't do it.

Wet sanding is for removing LOTS of paint, specifically it is done to flatten (remove) orange peel after applying several layers of paint. GM's accountants have been living in the paint booth for decades, so the paint on our cars is as thin as they can possibly make it. So since your car does not have several layers of paint from the factory, wet sanding the already incredibly thin OEM paint is a particularly excellent way of trashing the OEM paint job.

If the paint was in fact thicker, would wet sanding actually be the only thing that could get the microscratches out. My car has unfortunately been extremely abused (unfortunately by me) by making it go through car washes with evil spinney things since I didn't have anywhere to take care of it. So yeah all my fault for being the one to cause the 5k worth of paint damage from the car wash and the fact that I bought it new and could have prevented it but instead have taken 15k in depreciation haha.